Common Name: Railway creeper, Cairo Morning glory.
Railway creeper is an aggressive vine abundantly present in all districts of Tamilnadu. The plant runs over hedges and other vegetation’s around it and can grow to around 4-5 meters. The stem is thin and circular in cross sections, green in color with some purple patches. The simple leaves are arranged alternatively. The leaves are pedately- 4-7 foliate. The central leaflet is the largest and measures round 4.7 cm. The leaf stalk measure around 4 cm. The leaves are oval in shape and acute at both ends. The inflorescence is the form of an axillary cyme- 1-3 flowering buds in each. The flower is bell shaped and light purple in color. The flower stalk measure around 1.5 cm. The flower is 6 cm long and 6 cm across in measurement. The calyx is green in color and has five sepals of ovate shape. The plant has 5 stamens attached to the petal; they come in sets of two different sizes. The style is 2 cm long, white filamentous in appearance. The fruit is in the form of a capsule, they contain 4-6 black seeds.
